Velocipede construction



May 28, 1940. BULLOCK 2,202,479

VELOCIPEDE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 16, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR GILESEBl/LLOCK y 28, 1940- cs. E.-BULLYOCK 2,202,479

VELOCIPEDE} CONSTRUCTION Filed June 16, 1937 I s Sheets-Sheet 2 .u I i EL as Q I I i/ p 25 o I 3 1g i0 8 FIG 2 INVENTOR 6/455 ffiuLLock y 28 1940. G. E. BULLOCK 02,479

VELOCIPEDE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 16,. 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet s GILES Efil/LLOCK 4% ATTO EY 7 y 28, 1940- GFE. BULLOCK 2,202,479

VELOCIPEDE CONSTRUCTION Filed June 16, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR GILES Efil/LLOCK ATTOENEY May 28, 1940. cs. E. BULLOCK r 2,202,479 7 VELQCIPEDE CONSTRUCTION I I Filed Jun e 16, 19:57" 5 Sheets- Sheet 5- [N VENTOR GILES EBl/LLOM ATTO EY Patented May 28, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to velocipede constructions and has for its principal object to provide for a velocipede a strong and durable frame construction of novel design at a minimum 'cost for the manufacture thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide the velocipede construction with a novel form of hollow backbone having a combined battery holder and headlight support incorporated there-' in. e

A further object of this invention is to provide a velocipede with a novel fork construction for the mounting of the front wheel thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a velocipede with a novel hub construction for the rear wheels thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a velocipede with a novel pedal construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a velocipede with a novel form of saddle construction.

All these and other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from the detaileddescription thereof which follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the velocipede embodying the novel construction forming the subject matter of my present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the velocipede.

Figure 2A is a sectional view of the platform section of the velocipede, the section being taken on the line 2A-2A of Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view of the front end of the backbone of the velocipede, the section being taken on the line 3a:3x of Figure 1. I

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the front end of the backbone of the velocipede.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the pedal bearing construction in the front wheel fork of the velocipede, the section being taken on the line 5.'r5a: of Figure l.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the hub of the front wheel, the section being taken on the line lie-6a: of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional view of the fork construction, its mounting and steering connection, the section being taken on the line lac-1a: of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the parts illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 9:c9a: of Figure 8. I

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view of the connection between the steering bracket and the handle bar.

Figure 11 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line Ila:l la: of Figures 7 and 8.

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view of the steering bracket taken on the line |2:r-l2.'c of Figure 10.

Figure 13 is an enlarged detail side elevation of the bearing for one of the pedals of the veloci- Dede.

Figure 14 is a. sectional view thereof taken on the line Ike-Mm of Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a cross section of the pedal bearing taken on the line |5a:l-5m of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a sectional view of one of the complete pedals, the section being taken on the line l6:rl6x of Figure 18.

Figure 17 is a front elevation of one of the pedals and end of the crank on which it is mounted.

Figure 18 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 19 is a detail side elevation of the saddle of the velocipede.

Figure 20 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 21 shows the saddle post and its support and connection with the springs of the saddle.

Figure 22 is a horizontal section of the saddle post and spring support provided thereon, the section being taken on theline 22a:22:c of Figure 21.,

In the several figures of the drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts.

The velocipede construction forming the subject matter of my present invention embodies improvements of the velocipede construction illustrated and described in my prior Patent No. 1,984,916, issued December 18, 1934, and, as illustrated in the various figures of the drawings, comprises a frame made up of a single tubular back bone l which has its rear end supported by the platform 2 and rear axle 3. The latter is welded to the platform and projects from the ends thereof to have the rear wheels 4, 4 mounted to rotate thereon. To look the wheels to the axle the outer ends thereof are reduced and threaded --to provide the shoulders 5 thereon and have a fixed hub 6 screwed thereagainst to hold the rotating hub 'l of the rear wheel against endwise movement on the axle.

The hubs 6 are provided with a combined shield and handle 8 which is preferably circular in shape and concaved so as to extend over the hub toward the spokes of the rear wheel which is held in place by the hub. The diameter of the hub shield is enlarged to have it nest into the palm and have the axle 3 pass therethru for its support thereon and anchorage thereto. In this way a groove 9 is formed around the struck up portion of the backbone on the under side of the platform to have the backbone welded to the platform in this groove. In addition to this the axle 3 is welded to the backbone as indicated at I, Hi and to the ends of the platform at IDA, ||IA so as to rigidly connect the backbone, axle and platform and have the platform form a truss to rigidly support the backbone on the axle.

The forward end of the backbone is supported by the fork I2, the construction of which is illustrated in detailin Figures 7, 8, 11 and 12. For the mounting of the fork the top and bottom of the backbone has openings surrounded by tubular hub-like formations l3 and M which are struck out from the inside of the backbone in line with each other. A reinforcing sleeve I5 is telescoped into these hub formations and the collars l6 and I! are telescoped into the ends of the reinforcing sleeve so as to have their outflaring outer ends overlap the ends of the reinforcing sleeve and the hub formations. The outer edges of the outflaring flanges of the collars are welded to the hub formations l3 and I4 to fasten the collars to the backbone and hold the reinforcing sleeve IS in place in the backbone. The collars l6 and I1 provide spaced bearings on the inside of the hub formations at the top and bottom of the reinforcing sleeve in the backbone.

The fork is made up of sheet metal and comprises the head |8 which is upset in the middle to provide a socket l9 thereon. The fork shaped ends of the head are triangularly shaped and are lengthened by the arms and 2| which, for this purpose, are provided at the upper ends with triangular recesses 22 to have the triangular ends of the head nest and interlock thereinto and have their outer surfaces flush with the outside of the arms after the arms are welded to the triangular ends of the head in the assembly of the fork. The steering post 23 is welded into the socket I9 to form an integral part of the fork which projects thru the bearing collars l6 and II for rotation in the backbone. The shoulder of the fork, provided by the socket l9, engages the outflaring flange of the collar l1 and supports the backbone on the fork.

The steering post 23 projects from the bearing collar IS on top of the backbone member for the attachment of the bracket 24 thereto. This bracket connects the steering post 23 with the handle bar 25. The bracket 24 is formed up of sheet metal with a split socket 26 at the lower end thereof and a clamp 21 at the upper end thereof. On each side of the split in the socket 26 is formed a lug 28 and a clamping bolt 29 passes thru these lugs to draw them and the wall of the socket together and firmly clamp the socket to the portion of the steering post over which the socket is telescoped.

The bracket is flattened toward the top and its outer end is bent back on itself and formed to provide a substantially cylindrical clamp 21 thereon. A clamping bolt 30 holds the free end of the clamp against the under side of the bracket as illustrated in Figure 10 so that by tightening the bolt the clamp 21. is contracted and grips the handle bar 25 which passes thru the clamp. In this way the handle bar is adjustably held in place at the forward end of the bracket 24.

The handle bar 25 is made up of a folded seam tubing and to reinforce this tubing in order to keep it from collapsing at the point where it is gripped by the clamp 21, a plug 32 is inserted into the tubing to brace the wall of the tubing from within and keep it from collapsing when the clamp is drawn tightly around it in fastening the handle bar to the bracket.

In the lower ends of the arms 20 and 2| of the fork are provided the bearings for the front wheel 33. For this purpose each of the arms has formed therein near its end thereof a short horizontal socket 34 with an infiaring flange 35 formed on the outside of the arm. An oilless bearing ring 36 is placed into the socket against the flange 35 and is held in place therein by means of the bushing 3'! which is telescoped into the socket against the bearing ring from the inside of the arm. Each of the arms of the fork is thus provided with a self lubricating bearing in which the limbs 38 and 39 of the cranks 40 and 4| respectively are journaled for rotation in the end of the arms of the fork.

The cranks 40 and 4| and their limbs 38 and 39 are fastened together by the bolt 42 which is butt welded to the end of the solid limb 38 of the crank 4| and extends thru the hollow limb 38 and crank 40. A nut 43 is threaded to the outer end of the bolt to hold the cranks together and draw their limbs into the ends of the hollow hub 44 of the front wheel 33. The hollow hub 44 of the front wheel is substantially square in cross section and the free ends of the limbs 38 and 39 are correspondingly square shaped in cross section so as to telescope into the ends of the hub to key the cranks to the hub and provide a driving connection between the cranks 49 and 4| and the hub of the wheel 43. In this way the movement of the cranks rotate the front Wheel for the propulsion of the vehicle.

For the movement of the cranks their outer ends are provided with the pedals 46. These pedals are mounted to rotate on the outwardly projecting portions of the crank and comprise a suitable rubber body with a hole 41 therein to have the crank engage thereinto. The bearing for the pedal, which enables it to freely rotate on the crank, comprises a pair of oilless bearing rings 48 and 49 which are telescoped over the horizontal cranks end and are held spaced thereon by means of the retaining bushing 59. The latter comprises a cylindrical sheet metal housing which is longitudinally divided into two equal sections 5| and 52. The housing is formed so that each section is provided with a pair of substantially semicircular channels 53 and 54 which are spaced so that the opposing semicircular channels of each section form continuations of each other and engage and hold one of the oilless bearing rings in place between them. The two bearing rings are thus suitably spaced and locked into the sheet metal housing. To lock the sheet metal housing to the crank an annular groove 55 is formed intermediate the crank ends and the two sections making up the sheet metal housing are provided with correspon "lingly semicircular inwardly projecting complementary ridges 56 and 51 which engage into the annular groove in the crank end and keep the housing with the bearing rings against endwise movement thereon. To hold the two sections of the sheet metal housing together and in place on the crank end, the rubber pedal 'is telescoped over the metal housing provided by the sections to have the yielding wall thereof tightly embrace the housing and' hold the sections thereof together substantially embedded therein. The

bushing with its self lubricating bearing rings .thus provides the bearing forthe rotation of the pedal on the crank and at the same time automatically locks the pedal in place on the crank.

The outer end of each of the sections of the bushing'is rounded in order to extend over and substantially cover the end of the crank.

The combined headlight support and batteryholder of the velocipede are provided by the forwith the sleeve [5.

The headlight comprises a casing 3| of substantially the same cross section as that of the end of the back bone'except for an expanded flange 62 which surrounds the rear of the casing. This flange is adapted to telescope over the front end of the backbone and is suitably locked thereto to hold the headlight in place thereon. The front of the headlight casing is depressed to provide a reflector 63 with an opening in the center thereof and a threaded sleeve 64 extending rearwardly of the opening to provide a socket for the incandescent light 65. The switch for the headlight comprises a cross member 66 made up of insulating material which is'mounted to move transversely of the casing at the rear of the incandescent light and has its ends projecting from the sides of the casing so that it can be pushed back and forth therein. The switch member carries a small electrical contact button 61 in the form of a rivet head at the front thereof so that by moving the cross -member, the contact button is moved into and out of electrical con tact with the end of the electric incandescent light 65. The rear of the cross member carries the yielding contact finger 68 which is-elcctrically connected with the contact button 51 and provides the electrical connection between the incandescent light and the base of the shell of the dry cell. The frictional and yielding contact of the contact finger with the base of the dry cell serves to hold the switch member in position with the contact button either in contact or out of contact with the incandescent light.

The frame of the velocipede and the casing of the headlight provides the electric circuit which connects the positive center terminal of the diet cell with the socket in which the incandescent light is mounted so that by moving the contact button into and out of contact with the nd of j.

the incandescent light by means of the switch member 66 while the spring finger is in contact with the base of a dry cell, the headlight is turned on and off. The yielding spring finger it, aside from acting as a. connection between the imcandescent light and the dry cell, also serves as means for holding the dry cell yieldingly in place in the backbone with the center terminal thereof in electrical contact with the sleeve I! which surrounds the steering post in the backbone. g The saddle Ill of the velocipede-is mountedon the saddle post H which is adiustably clamped, in place in the socket I2 provided for this purpose in the backbone. The saddle is preferably formed up of sheet metal and its novel feature resides in the mounting of it on the saddle post by means of the spring I3. This spring is formed in one piec e and comprises two coils H and II, the top of each of which is suitably fastened to the under side of the saddle as illustrated in Figures 19 and 20. The connecting wirebetween the bottom of these coils is formed into a spring arm by having the projecting ends of-the coil springs bent .angularly toward'each other and then cross each other twice to form first a small substantially rectangular loop 18 and then alarge elongated loop TI. Both loops are bent so as to extend upwardly: from the base of thecoils 14 and 15 in front thereof and provide for the attachment of the outer end of the spring. arm formed by the loops to the under side of the saddle at the forward endofthe under sideof the saddle. r

Crossing the spring wire to form the loop 18 stifiens the arm at its point of attachment to the 1 saddle post. For the attachment a fixed supporting washer 18 is carried by the post H and is formed so as to provide an angular seat on one side thereof to receive the rectangularly looped portion of the extension from one coil oi the spring and hold" it in place around one side of the saddle post. A clamping washer 19, formed so as to engage and hold the rectangularly looped portion of the extensionfrom 'the other coil around the opposite side of thesaddle'post. is placed on top of the wire arm and suitably fastened to the saddle post to clamp the crossed wire portions of the arm together and to the saddie post. This form of attachment keeps the saddle from rocking laterally on the saddle postv in that it stiifens the spring arm so that it cannot twistlongitudinally on the saddle post.

I claim:

1: A fork support for supportin of a velocipede comprising a bi-furcated sheet metal head having tapered ends. a pair of sheet. metal arms, tapered recesses in the end of each of said arms for the engagement of the tapered ends of said sheet metal head'into said recesses for lateral and edgewise supp rt of said arms on the ends of said head, a socket centrally of said head and a steering post carried by said socket for pivotal engagement in said backbone.

drawn outwardly from the top and bottom of said, backbone member integrally therefrom, a sleeve extending transversely thru the backbone 'member to reinforce and connect said sleeve members withinsaid backbone member, a bearingcollar in each end of said sleeve and an outflaring flange on each of said bearing collarsfor engagement over the ends of said sleeve and sleeve membersgso as to locate each bearing coilar in a predetermined position in the ends of said sleeve. and locate said sleeve in a predetermined position in said sleeve members.

3. In combination with the support of the backbone member of a velocipede the combination of a steering post journaled in said backbone member, an extension bracket for said steering postmade up of a tubular member and having a tubular socket at one end for engagement over said steering post, the remainder of said tubular iii ember being flattened longitudinally to provide i athin double walled end at,the opposite end of the tubular bracket, a transverse loop formed by said double walled end of the tubular member, a handle bar extending thru said loop and means for contracting said loop GILES E. BULLOCK.

the backbone around said handle bar. 

